Too Late
by lady tecuma
Summary: Oneshot songfic. He came too late. One cannot live without the other, and so their mortal enemy wins...


**AN: **Damn, I just seem to be in an angst song-fic mood lately...Anyway, the song this time is Yoko Kanno's _Inner Universe_, opening theme of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime, of which I do not own.

And don't worry, no spoilers are here at all! Just some AUing on my part.

* * *

**Too Late**

It was a nightmare.

_Angely i demony kruzhili nado mnoj  
__Rassekali ternii i mlechnye puti  
__Ne znaet schast'ya tol'ko tot,  
__Kto ego zova ponyat' ne smog..._

His worst fear…whoever said Realians didn't have fears, **_they_** _lied_…whoever said that _he_ didn't have any fears, any emotions, **_they_** had lied….The ground bucked violently beneath him, and he fell to his hands and knees, the sharp rocks cutting into flesh, but he didn't care. He had to get to her, keep that…that _thing_ from hurting her…Snarling, he propelled himself off the ground, tearing towards the gunmetal-colored building.

_Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris  
Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria glories_

The sound of his footsteps echoed down the hallway. With every step he took, it felt as if a hand had plunged into his chest, fingers reaching out, gripping around his heart and squeezing...he knew it was the connection he shared with her, this was her pain he was feeling…

"Bastard!!" He screamed. "I know you can hear me, leave her alone!!" As if in reply, the ground buckled once more, the door and it's surrounding wall being ripped apart as if it were a piece of paper. Though the widening gap he saw her, a prisoner bound by red chains, as the ground split open underneath her they disappeared…

_I am calling, calling now, Spirits rise and falling  
__Soboj ostat'sya dol'she...  
__Calling, calling, in the depth of longing  
__Soboj ostat'sya dol'she..._

He didn't know if the cry he heard came from him. All he knew was that one minute, he was flying through the air…then he slammed into her, the force sending them both to safe ground. Now she lay in his arms with blood pouring from numerous wounds, her slender frame shuddering.

"Ca…Ca…Canaan…"

"Sssh, don't talk!"

_Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris  
Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria glories_

Desperate, he put his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, willing every healing Ether he had into her body, she had to live…

_Stand alone... Where was life when it had a meaning...  
__Stand alone... Nothing's real anymore and..._

A harsh rattle, a shuddering breath as a hand moved to his chest…he tore off one of his gloves with his teeth, his warm fingers locking around her cold ones. Maybe if he got her warm enough, she'd live!

"I'm not…I'm not going to make it. Please, save yourself…" The orange-haired Realian shook his head in violent denial.

"No, don't say that!" Green eyes met his own.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…" Another shudder rocked the body in his arms.

"Shion, no!"

_...Beskonechnyj beg...  
__Poka zhiva ya mogu starat'sya na letu ne upast',  
__Ne razuchit'sya mechtat'...lyubit'...  
__...Beskonechnyj beg..._

Rose-colored lips curved into a gentle smile as eyelashes fluttered down over green eyes, the hand left his own to go up to his face. Then just as suddenly, the hand stopped, falling down as the eyes closed, and one final breath escaped between her lips…Canaan stared, realization sinking in, she was gone, he was too late. Gold eyes widening in shock, the pupils contracting, he clutched Shion's body to his, squeezing his eyes shut, a scream of grief escaping his throat…

"NO!!"

_Calling, calling, for the place of knowing  
__There's more that what can be linked  
__Calling, calling, never will I look away  
__For what life has left for me _

As he wept, still holding the body close to him, feeling the skin turning cold underneath his fingers, he felt a presence behind him. Turning his head, he saw the familiar red energy materialize out of nowhere, tendrils snaking close to him and the precious burden that he held.

_So this is what it's like to close everything, is it? _He looked back down at Shion's face, even in death, she still had an aura of serenity...Then a feeling of rightness came over him, this was how he wanted it to be. It didn't matter anymore…nothing mattered anymore.

"Do what you wish."

_Yearning, yearning, for what's left of loving  
__Soboj ostat'sya dol'she...  
__Calling, calling now, Spirits rise and falling  
__Soboj ostat'sya dol'she..._

With his finely attuned senses, he heard the deathblow before it hit him…a _whoosh_ of air, and then his body jerked as something stabbed into him…a knife impaling his heart. With his remaining strength, he gathered Shion close, closing his eyes, his fingers curling into her hair.

_Calling, calling, in the depth of longing  
__Soboj ostat'sya dol'she..._

_Shion._

Then the knife twisted, and he knew no more.

_Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria gloris  
Polyubuytes', polyubuytes'  
Aeria gloris, aeria glories_


End file.
